The scene in Independence Day where he’s dragging an unconscious alien was filmed on the salt flats near the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The Great Salt Lake is home to tiny crustaceans called brine shrimp. When they die, their bodies sink to the bottom of the lake (which isn’t very deep) and decompose and when the wind kicks up, it causes a very, very bad smell. It seems no one thought to warn Will of this.

When James jumps from the overpass onto the tour bus in Men In Black, he’s jumping from the Pershing Square Bridge. Which is the same location that Robert Neville (Smith in I Am Legend) is attacked by demon dogs.

4. To research his role of J, Will Smith attended an alien encounter convention in Las Vegas.

He told Wired in 2004 “In the pitch, I just didn’t see it … I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix. At that point I wasn’t smart enough as an actor to let the movie be. Whereas Keanu was smart enough to just let it be. Let the movie and the director tell the story, and don’t try and perform every moment.”

7. Hancock’s uniform has a shout out to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sony Pictures

Will Smith, a Philadelphia native, wore a costume in Hancock with the 1948-1995 Philadelphia Eagles replica logo on the back.

Charles Sufford, a real-life 235 pound heavyweight boxer (17-2 record), was cast as George Foreman, and was told to make his punches as real as possible, without actually making it impossible for Will to act.

15. “No I was picking something up for myself, I do a little cross dressing on the weekends. You know, you’d be surprised how a nice pair of edible panties can make a guy feel sexy.” This is another improvised line.

During Enemy of the State, Will said it was very hard to hold back on comedic side while filming a dramatic scene.

16. The “I Love You” at the end of Bad Boys has a big amount of significance.

GIPHY/Columbia Pictures

Director Michael Bay fought with Will Smith because his character was supposed to say “I love you” to Marcus (Martin Lawrence). He said he would, but the day they filmed the final scene, he refused and fought with Bay for hours. It wasn’t until Bay said he didn’t care and they only had 15 minutes left to film that Smith wound up relenting and saying it.

17. His character Paul in Six Degress of Separation convinced people he was Sidney Poitier’s son.